in the light of a dark romance

Everything seemed easier  
when I traversed  
every road in the dark  
despite the bruises  
that said otherwise
 
Oncoming headlights  
and glowing red stop signs  
the only indication  
that more existed
during those fleeting, fearful moments  
than the shadows I wrapped around myself  
like worn, lice-ridden blankets  
that couldn’t keep out the chill of life  
 
Bathroom mirrors shone like crystal balls
that would read my future  
if I could only stare at myself  
for long enough  
and they whispered  
death
 
It didn’t take a psychic  
to see the graves I’d been digging myself
every time I stopped to wallow  
in the mud and torrential rains  
of things gone wrong  
again  
though I could never sit still long enough  
to lie down and pray for daisies  
to keep me warm  
 
I dreamed of sinking beneath the earth  
my nails chipped and bloody and caked with dirt  
and I screamed for mercy to empty skies  
that never had eyes to begin with  
 
Everything seemed easier
in the romanticism of every high  
reality the ever present enemy  
like dawn to darkness  
it always had to break  
and bring the light  
I never wanted to see  
 
It didn’t occur to me that I didn’t need the dark  
to breathe…
 
© Indie Adams 2012